Double Trouble
by fanficforyou
Summary: What if Justin had a twin sister, Olivia Fitzgerald? How would she react to her brother being arresting on their 18th birthday after punching their dad's girlfriend Allie? How far would she go to show her dad he needs to focus on their family, rather than Allie's and would she be successful? Set during S10E10
1. Birthday Breakfast

**Double Trouble**

**Hi guys! This is my first Waterloo Road fanfic and the idea came to me when I was watching the latest episode (Series 10 Episode 10) and this idea has been playing around in my head since then **

**This will be a short story, only a few chapters long**

**Disclaimer – I don't own Waterloo Road**

**I really hope you like this first chapter and please review – I would love to hear what you think!**

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**Summary: What if Justin had a twin sister, Olivia Fitzgerald? How would she react to her brother being arresting on their 18****th**** birthday after punching their dad's girlfriend Allie? How far would she go to show her dad he needs to focus on their family, rather than Allie's and would she be successful? Set during S10E10 **

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_**Chapter 1: Birthday Breakfast**_

**Olivia POV**

Waking up early on my 18th birthday was a hard task. I didn't want to go and engage in conversation with Allie and her family; I wanted it to be how it used to be, before dad left us for them – when Justin and I could celebrate our birthday, with mum and dad and Leo, all of us together, as a family.

Knowing that I couldn't do anything about that, I sighed heavily as I got out of bed and started getting ready for the day. Unfortunately, I had to go to school but at least it was the last day of term. It was awful having your dad as the head and his girlfriend as your art teacher but again, there was nothing we could do about that – despite Justin's efforts even since we first got here.

I checked my appearance in the mirror – my straight brown hair reached my mid-back as I had left it down and my fringe rested on the left side of my face. I shared my room with Tiffany, Allie's daughter, but she wasn't here because of everything that happened between her and Justin.

I knew my twin brother and I could tell that he did love her and that he wasn't using her, even though that's what Allie believed and obviously, she had got Tiffany to believe that as well meaning that Justin was even angrier at Allie.

Making my way into the kitchen, I noticed that Leo was the only one there with a helium balloon saying _Happy 18__th_at the table.

"Happy birthday Liv," my little brother said as he gave me one of his rare smiles, causing me to smile back at him as I kissed him on the top of his head.

Justin was the one with the temper, the one with the short fuse, but Leo had always been the quiet one and even before we moved here, he was the one that didn't cause any trouble and didn't like having the attention on him. It was up to me and Justin to look out for him, especially after dad left us and mum got ill so she couldn't really cope. Leo wasn't one to openly express his feelings but I made sure that even though he wasn't one of many words, I always made the time to see how he's doing.

"Where's everyone else?" I questioned as I sat down after boiling the kettle.

Leo just shrugged in response as he handed over an envelope which contained a card and a voucher to my favourite clothes shop.

"Thanks Leo," I said as I ruffled his hair playfully and gave him a brief hug. Straight away, he tried to flatten his hair before pushing his glasses back up, earning a chuckle from me. He had never liked people touching his hair.

Just then dad came in, in his usual attire – a grey suit, with Justin behind him with his Waterloo Road school uniform on with his jacket on top. He dumped his bag on the floor as he walked in.

"Happy birthday Olivia," Dad told me before kissing me on the head.

"Thanks dad," I replied just as Leo said happy birthday to Justin.

"Happy birthday Justin, where's my present?" I smirked.

"Happy birthday to you too and who said I've got you one?" He teased as he leaned against the worktops.

"Oh well, if you haven't got me one then I guess I don't have to give us this then," I teased back as I brought an envelope and wrapped box into view.

Justin pushed himself away from the worktops as his grin widen on his face, "Give us it then."

"Nope," I said moving them out of his reach.

"C'mon Liv," he insisted.

"I'll give it to you if you give me mine," I told him.

"Like I said, who says I've got one for you?"

"Where is it?" I asked, "Small enough to be in your pocket, in your bag or still in your room?"

"You left out still in the shop."

I laughed at my brother's antics. I glanced over at dad who was making breakfast but he was watching us with a smile on his face.

"Fine as the older, better and more mature twin, here's your present," I said as I handed them over to him.

"Only by ten minutes," he reminded me as he proceeded to open the envelope and get the card out.

Another grin appeared on his face as he read the card and then he unwrapped the present to reveal a watch. He opened it up and after I told him to look at the back, he saw the inscription - _Happy 18__th__Birthday Justin Love Liv x._

As he fastened it onto his wrist, he expressed his thanks and then gave me a quick hug.

"Maybe it'll help you get to your lessons on time," dad added, for the first time.

"I guess it's my turn then," Justin said as he pulled a long box out of his pocket.

"So I was right, fits in your pocket."

"Here you go."

The box contained a necklace with my name on it. Our mum had one with her name on it and when I was little, I had loved her necklace and had wanted one with my name on it. When I had asked why she had one with her name on, Dad had teased that it was because she couldn't remember her own name. I couldn't believe that Justin had remembered that.

"Thanks, I love it," I told my twin with a huge smile on my face as I got it out and Justin helped put it on me.

"Justin, here's my present," Leo said as he handed over another envelope.

"Cheers mate," Justin said as he too ruffled Leo's hair as I had done earlier, prompting Leo to sort it out again as Justin showed us the voucher he had got for the music shop. I couldn't help but smile at our younger brother's tactics here – ever since we had moved up here, Justin hadn't played his guitar as much as before when he used to play to relax and to forget about everything else going on. Now, he had abandoned the guitar and tended to have more violent outbursts than he did before.

Allie and Floyd walked into the kitchen as Justin came and sat at the table with us.

"Morning," Allie said in an upbeat voice, "Oh, happy birthday you two."

"Yeah, happy birthday," Floyd echoed in a very dull voice as he grabbed a slice of toast that dad had just put down onto the table.

I didn't hate Allie as much as Justin did, but I wasn't exactly her biggest fan either. She tried to get rid of Justin by making dad believe that he should go to a boarding school. Also, she also acted really happy with a smile on her face but it's all an act. She acts like she likes us to our faces but I've heard her complaining about us being here to dad.

My phone vibrated on the table at the same time as Justin's. Simultaneously, we looked at our messages.

"Who's that from?" Dad questioned as he took a sip of coffee.

"Mum," I informed him as I read the message, knowing that Justin had got the same one, wishing us a happy birthday and saying that she wished she was with us today.

That brought an awkward silence to the room, with Allie glancing over at dad and Floyd looking down at the table.

Dad broke the silence, "Well that fits nicely with my present. Happy birthday," he said as he placed an envelope onto the table.

Justin didn't move to pick it up, he just shrugged at me – I knew this was because of Allie and Floyd's arrival. The Justin who was just teasing about presents wasn't there now, not now that Allie and Floyd were here, he had gone back to the Justin who didn't care about this sort of thing, the one who had a passive attitude to this sort of thing, the one who was tough and had a permeant scowl on his face.

I picked it up and opened it; it was a birthday card from dad addressed to both of us and inside was three tickets.

"What are these?" I questioned as I held them up.

"Train tickets from the three of you to go and see your mum during the holidays, I know how much you want to see her. I know it's not Leo's birthday but the three of you going together would be really nice, for all of you, and your mum," dad told us as Allie once again glanced at him, with a small smile on her face.

"That's nice isn't it," Allie added in a happy tone, "I'm sure Olga would love to spend some time with you all."

"Thanks dad," I said, ignoring Allie's comment. I was looking forward to seeing mum again but I couldn't help but wonder if he had given them to us to get rid of us for a while because of Allie's constant reminder about the lack of space and how expensive it was for all of us staying here. Maybe it was because Tiffany would be coming home for the holidays; Allie had kept saying that she couldn't have her here whilst Justin was here and that it wasn't fair that her daughter couldn't be where she belongs. I'd bet anything that the tickets were her idea – that would explain her enthusiasm about the tickets.

We all finished our breakfast in silence and Allie glanced at her watch after she had put her dishes in the sink and said, "Vaughan, I have to be at school early today, to sort out things for the dance tonight."

"Alright, let's go then," dad said as he downed the rest of his coffee.

"Come on you two," he called to me and Justin as the others got their bags and coats.

"I'll walk today," I told him.

"Yeah same," Justin said as he turned his attention to his phone.

Sighing dad left us with a reminder to lock the door and ushered the rest of them out of the house.

"Pick up, pick up," Justin muttered as he paced.

Frustrated when he got no answer, he slammed his phone onto the table.

"Tiffany?" I asked even though I knew the answer.

"Yeah, I would've thought she would've at least sent a text, seeing as it's my birthday," Justin told me, the disappointment and pain evident on his face.

Apart from us, his own family, the only person I had ever seen Justin be himself with, was Tiffany and I knew that he did genuinely love her even though people doubted it, I knew that he did. But when she left, he couldn't take it – he was so angry to Allie for sending her away and he still was.

Justin started to rummage through the post that I hadn't noticed was on the table; Allie must have brought it in before. There were a handful of birthday cards but I knew from his expression that none were from her either; he would've recognised the handwriting.

"Come on," I told him as I grabbed my bag, "We better get going."

With a deflated sigh, he too got his bag and the two of us left the house for school, talking about the visit to mum and how great it would be to see her again, now that she was a lot better than before when Justin and I had to do everything.

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	2. Punches and Police Stations

**Hi guys! I just want to say thank you to all of those who read and reviewed on the first chapter! I am so glad that you liked it!  
**

**Guest \- thank you for taking the time to review, I'm thrilled you liked the start and hope you like this one as well**

**It's getting late and I'm tired but I have managed to finish off this chapter, it's longer than the last one!**

**So, enjoy reading and please leave a review!**

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**_Chapter 2: Punches and Police Stations_**

**Olivia POV**

When we got to school, Justin went off to sort out something for his food bank and declined my offer of help, saying that it wouldn't take too long.

After registration, I walked with Rhiannon and Darren to the assembly hall where we were going to help decorate it for the dance instead of participating in our normal art lesson.

When we got there, Allie gave us, what she thought, was an inspirational and motivational speech about how we could transform the hall, encouraging us to be creative and to really try our hardest to make the dance a success.

Looking around I noticed Floyd and Gabriella stood talking in one corner, Darren and Rhiannon looked as if they were arguing about something, other students were dotted around the hall but Justin still wasn't here. After sending him a quick text to ask where he was, I turned my attention to Rhiannon who had just said my name.

"What did you say?" I questioned.

"Tell him Liv," she replied looking over at Darren, "He won't tell me what he's planning; I know he's up to something!"

"It's a surprise!" Darren told her in an exasperated tone.

"What sort of surprise is it?" I questioned.

"The sort that's meant to stay a secret," he replied.

"I'll get it out of you Darren Hughes, one way or another," Rhiannon declared as she grabbed me by the arm and lead me to where the boxes were. We searched through a number of them, picking out the decorations we needed.

Around twenty minutes into the lesson, there was still no sign of Justin and at first, I thought he was just skiving off because decorating the hall for a school dance wasn't exactly his thing and because he would do whatever he could to get back to Allie, but now, I couldn't help but feel that there was more to it than that, that something else was going on.

I was close enough to hear Allie ask Floyd and Gabrielle if they had seen Justin and Floyd make some sarcastic remark about him going walkabout and why she was so surprised.

Just as Rhiannon and I were about to leave to get some more stuff from the store cupboard, Allie stopped me and asked, "Olivia, have you seen Justin?"

"Yeah," I told her bluntly.

"Well where?" She asked, not pleased that I hadn't given her a full answer the first time round.

"He had to go and see dad," I lied to cover for my brother, "About the food bank."

"Right," she said with a little nod of her head as she walked away.

After raiding the store cupboard, Rhiannon and I made our way down the stairs where I could hear familiar voices. The first voice was definitely Justin and the other sounded like Allie. I couldn't hear what they were saying but I could tell from just his voice that he was close to snapping.

As I quickly ran down the flight of stairs, leaving a bewildered Rhiannon behind, I heard Allie shout, "She didn't want to be with you!"

I shouted Justin's name as I reached the bottom of the stairs but I was too late to stop it. I just heard him scream, "Shut up!" as he raised his fist in a flash of anger and punched Allie in the face, causing her to fall backwards as she held the place where she had been hit.

Discarding the box onto the floor in a hurry, I ran forward as other students appeared into the corridor, fascinated by the scene in front of them.

Grabbing Justin's arm, I held him back as he slowed his breathing and blinked back the angry tears in his eyes. Just looking at his face I knew that whatever Allie had said about him and Tiffany just then had upset him and as he calmed down, I knew that he, along with everyone else, was shocked by his actions.

The silence was interrupted with footsteps coming down the stairs hurriedly and an authoritative voice asking what was going on. He quickly evaluated the scene in front of him, seeing Allie who was still down, holding her head and Justin was in the closest proximity with me holding him back.

So quick that I almost missed it, Dad lunged forward for Justin with his fist raised in the air. He grabbed the front of his shirt when I snapped back into action and stood in front of my brother, with one hand on dad's chest, preventing him from doing anything else.

"Dad, don't!" I shouted, causing him to stop. By this time, even more students had filtered into the corridor as well as a handful of teachers.

Mrs McFall quickly went over to help Allie up whilst Mrs Mulgrew moved over to us and slowly said, "Vaughan, that's not a good idea," as dad still had a firm grip on Justin with anger still flashing in his eyes.

Finally dad realised that punching Justin in front of everyone wasn't a good idea and he simply pulled Justin after him whilst saying, "Well I've got a better idea."

Justin looked as confused as me and Mrs Mulgrew as he was being grabbed along by the arm prompting me to run after them, wondering where they were going. I heard Mrs Mulgrew telling the crowd that the show was over and told them all to clear the corridor.

Dad didn't even acknowledge that I was following him or that me and Justin were repeatedly asking him what was going on, he just seemed focused on going to wherever he was planning on going.

As we neared the main entrance of the school, Leo ran up to us, out of breath, and asked, "What's going on dad?"

When he got no answer, he looked at me and Justin and I stopped momentarily to tell him, "I don't know Leo, just stay here okay. I'll let you know what's going on when I find out."

Not even waiting for a reply from my little brother, I ran after dad and Justin who were already in the car park.

* * *

"Dad, what are you doing?" Justin questioned, once again, but this time he sounded scared rather than confused.

"Dad you can't!" I told him in disbelief, when I quickly realised what he was planning on doing. I couldn't believe that he was going to the police about Justin, his own son!

I thought, well more hoped, that dad was just doing it to scare Justin and that he wasn't actually going to go through with it but he walked into the station with Justin and his eyes told me everything that I needed to know – they were cold, hard and full of anger. I had no doubt that dad would go through with it now.

"Dad," Justin tried again, "I'm sorry, okay, I'm sorry – I just lashed out! I'll apologise to Allie."

Ignoring the two of us again, he marched straight up to the desk, still holding Justin's arm, despite his struggles and protests with me behind the two of them.

"Excuse me," dad said to get the officer's attention, "I'm the head-teacher at Waterloo Road School. I would like to make a complaint."

My heart sank as I looked over at Justin who had, like I had moments previously, realised that dad was actually going to get him arrested.

"Don't do this, please," I begged my dad though to no avail.

"And what's the complaint?" The officer asked as he looked at the three of us.

"This student," dad replied as he gestured to Justin, "has assaulted a teacher and the victim, Ms Westbrook, would like to press charges." Dad spoke in his 'head-teacher' voice, the authoritative voice, the one that now scared me because of the coldness of his tone and the fact that there was no emotion in his voice.

The officer raised his eyebrows and looked over at my brother, "Is that true son?"

Glancing back to dad who stared back at him, he said, "It wasn't like that."

"Did you, or did you not, assault this teacher?" The officer asked.

Looking back at dad, he slowly nodded, prompting the officer to write down something else.

This time he addressed dad, "The teacher, Ms Westbrook, will have to make a statement."

Dad just simply nodded, "She will do. She's just a bit shaken up at the moment."

The officer turned his attention back to Justin, "What's your name?"

"Please don't do this, I said that I'm sorry," Justin tried to change dad's decision but Dad was fixated on going through with this.

"His name's Justin," he answered for him, "Justin Fitzgerald."

The officer wrote down this information and then looked up again at Justin, "So can you tell me what happened then Justin?"

"It wasn't like he said, I mean I did hit it but not like that," Justin insisted and then he looked over at me for the first time since we entered the police station and he spoke quickly, "She was winding me up, about Tiff, showing me messages and saying that she didn't love me, that she never had, and I swear, I didn't mean to punch her, she just got me so angry and it just happened!"

I nodded at him reassuringly, to show him that I believed him because I did and because I can tell that he was scared that no-one else would believe him, after all, his own dad didn't take his side. When I saw him, I could tell that he was wound up and upset and I understood why he lashed out. But I couldn't help the helpless feeling that had taken over; the police could arrest him and eventually charge him for hitting Allie.

Then he looked back at dad, pleading with his eyes as well as his words, "I'm sorry dad, I swear, so please can we just go?"

The officer looked shocked as he looked at dad and Justin in turn, "He's your son?"

"Yes," Dad nodded once.

"Right," the officer confirmed, though he looked a little confused. "So what is the problem between your son and Ms Westbrook? Do they have a difficult relationship?"

"She's my partner as well as his teacher," Dad admitted causing the officer to once again raise his eyebrows.

"And who may you be?" He questioned as he looked over at me, wondering why I was here.

"She's my daughter," Dad informed him.

"So this is some kind of family affair?" The officer inquired, "And what did she do?"

"I haven't done anything," I told him, "And all of this is just extreme dad, so please can we leave?"

Dad wasn't happy at the officer's comment about the family and he sternly said, "Family or not, he assaulted a teacher and should be taught that actions have consequences!"

"Bit too late to start teaching us lessons now isn't it dad?" I quipped, "You weren't there for us when we needed you because you left us for Allie and her family and conveniently forgot about your own!"

"This isn't the time or place for that Olivia," Dad spoke harshly.

"And this is?" I gestured around me, "He lost his temper dad, something you were close to doing as well and getting him arrested on our birthday, well isn't that just the perfect gift?!"

"He can't just go around getting away with everything!"

Before I could reply, the officer intervened, "Sir, my kids are around the same age as yours, and I know they can be handful when they start acting up but are you sure you want to do this?"

"He has committed a crime and deserves to be punished," dad said with no emotion at all.

The officer sighed heavily, clearly he didn't agree with dad's choices either. He called over another officer who took hold of Justin by the arm.

"Justin Fitzgerald, I'm detaining you on suspicion of assault," he told him and then cautioned him during which Justin looked over at both me and dad, shocked at what was going on, "Dad please - come on," he pleaded desperately for the last time.

"Liv, I didn't mean to, you know I didn't!" He insisted as the other police officer handcuffed him.

"I know, I know you didn't," I told him quickly, making sure that he knew that I understood and that I believed him, even if his own dad didn't.

"Take him through to the cells," the officer behind the desk instructed to his colleague who began to lead Justin through the double doors.

The last thing I saw was his face – it was full of hurt, disbelief and desperation.

Dad acted professional as he turned back to the officer, you wouldn't believe that he had just watched his own son arrested in fact, I didn't recognise him at all. "So, what happens now?"

"Well, it's our job to investigate so like I said earlier we will take a statement from Ms Westbrook, get everything we need for the case and then after that, it's up to the court."

Court! Realisation dawned on me – Justin was now 18, so legally he was no longer a child and that meant that he wouldn't get let off as easily as he would if he was younger. Justin, my twin brother, could actually get sent down for this.

"What… What would happen to Justin?" I asked hesitantly, not sure that I even wanted to know the answer.

"Well the worst case scenario is that your brother will be looking at doing time inside – a year, maybe more," he told me.

"Dad," I said, "I know what he did was wrong, and he does too, but you didn't have to do this. We could have sorted this out, without getting the police involved."

"He needs to learn," was all dad said.

"Right well thank you officer," dad told him as he stepped away from the desk.

"What that's it dad?" I questioned, "You just got him arrested and now you're just gonna forget about him and go back to Allie?"

"There's nothing more I can do now, I have to go back to school - it's my job."

"No dad, your _job_ is to take care of us and you've done a pretty rubbish job of that! First, you abandon us, mum couldn't cope so she got ill and that meant that we had to do everything ourselves. And now, Justin's in a cell because of you!"

"No, he's in a cell because he can't control his anger!"

"I wonder where he gets that from," I retorted.

Ignoring my last comment, he then gave a nod as a goodbye to the officer and left the station, expecting me to follow.

As much as I wanted to stay at the station and see what was going to happen next, I knew that I wouldn't be allowed and that it would take a long time because they still had to take Allie's statement. With my mind racing, I too left the police station, leaving my twin behind.

* * *

When we got back to school, I completely ignored dad, who was calling my name, and left to go and find Leo, after all, I had promised him that I would tell him what's going on.

First I went to retrieve my bag from the assembly hall where I had left it earlier – joking around with Rhiannon and Darren whilst decorating the hall seemed a lifetime ago, so much had happened since then.

"Liv," I heard Leo behind me as I left the hall, "What happened? Where's Dad? Where's Justin?"

"Dad's probably gone to see Allie," I told him.

"What about Justin?" He had picked up on the fact that I hadn't answered that first.

"He… He's been arrested Leo," I revealed, "Dad took him to the police station."

Leo wasn't much for words anyway but he was clearly speechless. I couldn't tell that he was shocked that dad would do that.

"You okay?" He asked me after a while.

"Me? Yeah, I'm fine," I told him with a forced smile, touched that he had asked how I was feeling about it.

Justin and I had always told Leo the truth about what was going on, with mum and dad and everything else, but only the basics because we didn't want to worry him more than necessary so telling him that Justin could end up in prison definitely wasn't an option.

"This isn't a birthday you'll be forgetting in a hurry is it?" Leo was usually shy and didn't display his feelings as publicly as others and because he was smart I knew that he had figured out that Justin's age wouldn't exactly work in his favour but chose to lighten the situation a little, for the both of us.

"What about you?" I asked him as we walked along the corridor.

"Well when we were having breakfast this morning and giving you guys the presents, this isn't what I imagined what would happen next," he responded.

"You and me both Leo," I told him as I sighed. "Where's Allie?"

He just shrugged, "I think Mrs Mulgrew took her to pastoral care but that was straight after it happened so I'm not sure."

I hear a click-click-click behind us, the sound getting closer and closer as the person got nearer to us.

Sonya, in her heels, stopped the two of us and said, "Mr Fitzgerald would like to see the two of you in his office."

"I'll pass thanks," I told her bluntly.

"Your dad said you don't have a choice," she replied, "So come on, follow me."

* * *

"Mr Fitzgerald, here they are," Sonya informed him as she opened his office door to let the two of us into the room where Dad, Allie and Floyd were waiting.

"Thanks Sonya," he thanked his secretary, "Can we have no interruptions please?"

"Of course Mr Fitzgerald, let me know if you need anything," she replied in her perky voice as she closed the door.

Dad gestured for the two of us to sit down but we both remained standing, right near the door.

Allie had an ice-pack pressed against the side of her head and Dad was sat opposite her. Floyd however was stood up, arms folded, clearly not happy.

"Well?" I questioned, wanting him to get to the point.

"I just wanted us to have a talk, as a family, about this morning," he started.

"Aren't you forgetting a member of the family, y'know, the one who you took to the police station?

"Olivia, Justin needs to learn!" He insisted.

"That's all you keep saying! You do realise that his whole future could be affected by this? He wouldn't get as many opportunities to _learn_ if he has a record!"

"Well that's his own fault," Floyd butted in, "He deserves everything he gets."

"You're saying he deserves to lose out on a good uni because of one mistake?"

"Mistake," Floyd scoffed, "He punched mum!"

"Yeah he did," I agreed, "Do you want one as well?!"

"Olivia!" Dad intervened at the same time as Leo nudged me, silently getting me to calm down.

I wouldn't have punched Floyd, even if he was asking for it, because that wasn't me.

Justin was the one who'd lose his temper and have a violent outburst, but I was the one who would get angry and shout and rant. My words were more threatening to others than my actions, unlike Justin.

After a brief silence, I spoke up again, "You allowed your own son to be arrested, on his birthday, without even hearing his side of things."

"Birthday or not, it doesn't excuse what he did," was the reply dad gave.

"Yeah, I'm sure he'll enjoy his birthday lunch in a cell," Floyd smirked but he shut up after Allie gave him a pointed look.

"Okay, stop both of you!" Dad interrupted, "The purpose of this was to make sure you all knew what is happening, so any questions?"

For the first time since Leo and I arrived Allie spoke up, "Has he been charged?"

That was the first question she asked – unbelievable! Just shows how much she wants to get rid of him doesn't it?

"No they haven't," Dad told her, "He's being held in a cell until further notice."

"Is he going to go to prison?" Leo too spoke for the first time since we came in. You could sense the fear in his voice.

"No," dad replied looking straight at his youngest, "I hope not."

He hopes not? Then what was the whole point of him dragging Justin down to the station, of watching him get arrested?

"I hope he does!" Floyd commented – and this time, no-one told him off for his remark whereas if I had said something, dad would've told me to be quiet.

"Then why did you do it dad?" Leo questioned in a small voice. His words had more of an impact that mine or Justin's had because he was usually quiet and because of his tone.

"Because," Dad struggled to answer, "Because I was angry and everything just happened so quickly."

"That's exactly how Justin felt, Dad," I spoke up, "One minute, Allie's there winding him up about Tiffany and the next, he's punched her."

Floyd looked a bit surprised, "Oh you didn't know," I said to him, "Your mum was messing with Justin's head, telling him that your sister didn't love him. She's always been spiteful to him and today, she was just stirring it, rubbing it in his face."

"That's enough!" Dad shouted before turning back to Leo, "I just wanted to teach him a lesson."

"Well this is just what he needs," Allie reassured Dad, "He needs to realise that he can't continue the way he is."

"Yeah," Dad agreed, "All I want is for him to know that he can't get away with it and I wanted the police to teach him something that I have clearly failed to teach him!"

"Clearly," Leo stated and with that, he left dad's office, leaving the door wide open. Sonya, who was sat at her desk, looked shocked as the door swung open.

Dad was thrown by Leo's words and actions – the one who was usually calm, level-headed and kept his opinions to himself.

"He does have feelings you know dad," I told him, "After you left for these lot, Leo only had me, Justin and mum. And now, mum's not here and because of you, Justin isn't either. And ever since we've been here you've never given him the time of day – you've just ignored him."

"So you've not only failed Justin," I continued, "You've failed us all Dad."

And with that comment, I followed in Leo's footsteps and left.

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**I'll probably only have a couple more chapters, because like I said, it's only a short one!**

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	3. Comments, Convincing and Close Calls

**Hi guys! Thank you all for reading and for your lovely reviews, I really appreciate your kind words about my writing and this story!  
**

**Also, the next chapter will be the final chapter of this story!**

**Here is the next chapter, hope you enjoy it and don't forget to review!**

* * *

**_Chapter 3: Comments, Convincing and Close Calls_**

**Olivia POV**

At lunch Leo and I sat at our own table and we both toyed with our food - not really in the mood to eat.

"Do you think Allie's given her statement yet?"

We had seen two police officers come into the school when we had come to get our lunch; we assumed that there were here to take Allie's statement about what happened earlier.

'I don't know," I told him truthfully.

We then fell back into silence, both of us wondering what would happen to our brother.

* * *

After the bell rang, I was waiting outside the art room along with the rest of the class when Floyd and Gabriella joined us.

"You know, the police came before," Floyd said, "Took mum's statement, I doubt your brother's getting out anytime soon then."

Wisely, I ignored him, knowing that he wanted to get a reaction out of me and get me sent to the cooler which would get me into trouble with dad.

By the time Allie had called the class in, the majority of students were expressing their opinions about Justin hitting Allie.

"It wasn't right what he did Miss," someone called.

"Yeah, he deserves everything he gets," another added.

"Thank you but we should be concentrating on the dance tonight," Allie told the class.

"Oi," Lisa shouted across the room to me, "Do you reckon he's gonna get sent down?"

"Shame," Shaznay commented in her booming voice, "He was well fit."

"Girls, that's enough," Allie chided but by that time I had already put my bag on my shoulder and was leaving the room.

"Olivia," Allie called after me, "Olivia!"

But I carried on walking, ignoring her calls. I wasn't gonna put up with a whole lesson of everyone commenting about Justin's future, I needed to help get him out of that police cell and the only way I was going to do that would be to appeal to dad on his own, without Allie or Floyd there.

* * *

'Shouldn't you be in lessons?" Sonya chided with a disapproving look on her face when she saw me enter the room.

"I need to talk to my dad," I told her as I approached her desk

'Well Mr Fitzgerald is very busy," she informed me.

"I'm sure he can spare five minutes," I remarked as I walked straight into his office.

Dad looked up when he heard the door open.

'I'm sorry Mr Fitzgerald," Sonya apologised hurriedly as she too appeared in the doorway, "She just walked straight in."

"It's okay Sonya," he told her, "Thank you."

Getting the hint, she closed the door as she left. Dad then turned to me, his body language and facial expressions evident that he was wondering why I was here.

"I'm not here to apologise dad," I told him, "I meant everything I said before."

He didn't answer me; instead, he just leaned back in his chair – waiting for me to continue.

"I just wanted to know what was happening with Justin," I continued, "We saw the police come in earlier."

"They came to take Allie's statement," he replied.

"What did they say about Justin?" I questioned.

"They just said they'd be in touch."

"Are you not bothered dad?" I started to get angry again. How could he care so little about his own son?

He leaned forward again and put his hands on his desk, "What you need to understand is that this is what he needs."

I laughed bitterly, "So now you're just repeating what Allie says."

I knew that this was going to get me anywhere so I paused for a second before trying again, "Dad he's gonna be freaking out in that cell, I know he is. He's gonna think that we've just left him to it, that we don't care!"

As I said this, I imagined my twin brother, alone, in a small cell – shouting and screaming to be let out of there. The image brought tears to my eyes – I needed to get through to dad so we could get him out of there.

"I do care," he insisted, "About all of you."

"But you left us before dad, and he's gonna think that you've done it again," I retorted.

"It's out of my hands now, I can't do anything," dad sighed.

"We can at least try dad," I told him, "You're the one who took him in earlier."

"But Allie's made a statement," he reminded me.

"Yeah and I'm sure you can convince her to withdraw it but the least you could do for Justin is to try."

After a long silence, where dad was clearly in deep thought, he jumped up and grabbed his keys from the top of his desk.

"Can I come as well?" I asked.

Before he could say no, I continued, "We're just sorting things out for the dance tonight and I doubt I'd be much help anyway."

He nodded once at me and we both left his office. As we walked past Sonya, dad just said he would be back later and she just said, "Okay Mr Fitzgerald," but I could tell that she was curious as to where we were going.

* * *

Walking into the police station for the second time today, Dad and I walked up to the desk to be greeted by the same officer as before. He looked a little surprised to see us here again.

"Can I help you Mr Fitzgerald?"

"Yes," Dad replied, "I would like you to release my son please."

"You mean the one who you brought in earlier?"

"Yes," Dad confirmed, raising his eyebrows.

"Well I'm sorry but you're too late sir," the police officer informed us.

"What do you mean?" I asked, surprised at his response.

Looking over at me, he responded, "Your brother was bailed earlier."

"What? When was he bailed?"

"About twenty minutes ago," came the reply.

Dad sighed and was talking to the officer, probably about what was going to happen whilst I quickly rang Justin. It kept ringing but he didn't reply. I send him a quick text, asking him where he was – very similar to the one I had sent earlier that day – and explaining that dad and I were at the station. I tried to call him again but this time, it went straight to voicemail. I knew that that meant that he had seen my first call and had now turned his phone off.

"Do you know where he went?" I heard dad ask as I turned my attention back to them.

"I'm sorry sir," he apologised.

"Well, thank you for your help," dad said.

"Thank you," I repeated as we left to go back to school, wondering if Justin had gone back there, if he had gone home or if he had ran away.

* * *

"Another one of these meetings," Floyd commented sarcastically as all of us were gathered in dad's office again, "What fun!"

"Floyd," Allie reprimanded.

Dad addressed us all, "Justin has been bailed but we're not sure where he is."

This was only news to Floyd and Allie, I had already told Leo and we had both tried to get into contact with our brother but to no avail.

"Sorry to interrupt Mr Fitzgerald," Sonya said as she opened the door, "But you have a visitor," and then she stepped back to reveal Tiffany.

"Mum," she called as Allie stood up and embraced her daughter.

"Thanks Sonya," Dad nodded to his secretary, politely telling her to leave.

Tiffany hugged her brother as her mum asked, "What are you doing here?"

"Floyd rang," she explained, "He told me what was going on so I got the first train down."

"I didn't know she was going to come," Floyd defended himself.

"I'm just so glad to see you love," Allie told her as Tiffany hugged dad, totally ignoring mine and Leo's presence.

"So what's going on? Is he still at the police station?" Tiffany asked, "I can't believe he did that to you mum," she gestured to Allie's head.

"Justin's been bailed," Floyd told his little sister, clearly not happy about it.

"Where is he then?"

Floyd just shrugged, "No idea."

Dad intervened, "I think the best idea is for you to continue as normal and if anyone sees Justin, just let me know."

"That's it dad?" I questioned, "Can't you drive me home or something to check if he's there?"

"That's exactly what he wants," Allie insisted.

"Who was asking you?!" I turned to her.

"None of this is mum's fault," Floyd defended his mum.

"Olivia!" Dad interrupted, "That is enough!"

"You know what," I said, "Forget this; none of you seem to be bothered about Justin so I'll guess I'll have to do it myself then."

I ran out of dad's office and even though I could hear footsteps behind me, I still carried on.

"Liv," Leo called.

"I'm sorry Leo," I sighed as I stopped and leaned against the wall.

When Leo had caught up, I continued, "I just wanna know where he is."

"Maybe he just went to clear his head or something," Leo suggested.

"Maybe," I agreed, "I'm gonna go home and check if he's there."

"Can I come?"

"Leo, my little brother who hates missing a day of school, wants to bunk off?"

He turned red with embarrassment as he explained, "I just want to make sure he's okay."

"I was only joking," I told him as we made our way out of school.

* * *

"Justin?" I called as we walked into the house.

"I'll check the garage," Leo informed me.

I quickly examined the rest of the house and was in the kitchen when Leo came in.

"He's not there," he sighed, "And all of his stuff is still there as well."

"Everything's just how we left it this morning," I said, as I gestured to the birthday cards on the table and the unwashed dishes in the sink.

"We could look around town?" Leo suggested, "See if he's there."

"Yeah," I agreed with a heavy heart. Where was he?

* * *

Leo and I walked back into the school later, it was pretty empty in the corridors and then I remembered that the dance must have started by now. As we walked along the corridor, we bumped into Tiffany who was coming out of the toilets.

"Vaughan's been looking for you two," she told us. Like she even needed to tell us, we had multiple missed calls and messages from him that we had ignored.

"And we've been looking for our brother," I replied, "Seeing as no-one else seems to care."

She sighed and said, "I cared Justin."

"Past tense," I commented.

"I did," she explained, "And I thought I could help him but he's just so out of control. I thought he was different to what everyone was saying but he's not, I mean, he hit my mum!"

"Even if you don't feel the same way, I know for a fact that my brother loved you, and he still does, and I haven't seen him so open with anyone else. You know that what happened this morning was provoked by your mum, she was winding him up about you."

"I'm sorry," Tiffany replied, "But I can't help him now or be with him, I mean, how can you be with someone who you're scared of? He could lash out at any moment."

"Good thing he's got us then," I retorted. Even though I didn't agree with her, I understand what she meant. See, others would, and have, given up on Justin but family, like me and Leo, won't – even though dad already has.

"Where did you go?" Tiffany asked us.

"Home and around town," Leo spoke for the first time, "But he wasn't there."

"I know," Tiffany nodded, "I've just seen him - he was pretty upset."

"What? When did you see him?"

"About five minutes ago," she told us, "I'm just going to go and tell Vaughan now."

"Where did he go?"

"I don't know, I went to the toilet," Tiffany shrugged, "But he looked pretty upset."

"Why?" I asked, "What did you say?"

"I just told him that things couldn't go back to how they were before," Tiffany informed us, "That I couldn't believe that he had hit mum and that he wasn't the person that I thought he was."

I ran a hair through my hair; Justin would be angry and upset, which would mean that he would be unpredictable.

"Liv," Leo called from down the corridor, I hadn't even noticed that he had gone, "He's here, quick!"

"I'm going to get mum and Vaughan," Tiffany informed us.

I quickly ran to where Leo was, outside the art room and I saw that Justin was inside. His arms lashed out throwing things off the desks and shelves. The tables toppled over as he lost his temper. I knew that he must be even more annoyed at Allie because of everything Tiffany just said. For Justin, it would seem like Allie had finally got through to Tiffany, turned her against Justin, which is why he chose her art room.

"Justin!" I shouted as Leo and I stood in the doorway, "Justin, stop it!"

I moved further into the room when he momentarily stopped.

"What's the point Liv?" He questioned as he looked up at me, tears gathered in his eyes and his face full of anger and hurt.

"Everything is just so wrong!" He shouted, "I always mess everything up!"

Then he did something I wasn't expecting. He picked up a box of matches from the desk, took out a match and held it in front of the gas canister on Allie's desk. I don't even want to think what would happen if he lit that match, there were the three of us here – we would definitely get hurt, not to mention everyone at the dance in the assembly hall.

"Justin," Leo spoke softly and calmly, though I could hear the tremble in his voice, "Please don't do this."

"Both of us just go!" Justin shouted, "I'm only gonna mess things up even more!"

"Justin," I spoke this time, "Just put it down; you don't want to do this!"

"Don't I?" He questioned, "Just please," he continued, his eyes pleading with us, "Go – both of you."

I looked over at Leo who was stood next to me and said quietly, "Go Leo."

"What?" He asked, as he looked between us, "What about you two?"

"Just go okay," I insisted in a soft tone.

He looked at the two of us again before slowly backing out of the room, probably to go and find dad who Tiffany must have already found.

"You go as well Liv," Justin told me with a defiant look.

I looked right at him and said, "No, I'm not going anywhere. Eighteen years ago today, we came into this world together and if this is what you want to do, then we're gonna go together. I'm not letting you do this by yourself."

I remained eye contact with him as a wave of confusion came over his face. This was the only way I could get through to him, at least I hoped. I knew he was thinking about it now, if he should or shouldn't do it.

"If you're gonna do it Justin, do it now," I insisted, pushing him to make a decision.

I held my breath as I watched him, it was now or never.

He dropped the matches as he fell to the floor and broke down into tears. I let out the breath I was holding as I quickly moved over to him and put my arms around him. Tears were streaming down my face, just like him and we both cried as we held onto each other.

It was this when I could see how hurt my brother really was, how everything had affected him even though he put on a hard front.

I had seen Justin break down before, it was when we were living with mum - Justin just lost it. Everything had just built up, dad had gone and mum was suffering from a nervous breakdown meaning that Justin and I had to do everything. He trashed his room and he ended up in a fit of tears, but this was worse, a lot worse but that wouldn't stop me being there for him because that's what family did, that's what you do when you love someone. I've had my fair share of breakdowns too, not as extreme as this, but even still, Justin had been there for me and I was going to be there for him too.

We were still like that, on the floor, when dad burst into the art room with Leo, Allie, Tiffany and Floyd.

"Are you two okay?" Dad asked, clearly out of breath.

I just nodded as I wiped away my tears. Justin and I stood up and immediately, Leo came over and I hugged him.

"It's okay," I told him. I knew that what he saw must have been a bit of a shock to him, he probably thought he wouldn't see any of us again.

As I let go of my little brother, he looked over at Justin, "You okay?"

"Yeah I'm good mate," Justin forced a smile on his face as he put an arm around Leo.

Dad interrupted and said as he clapped his hands together, clearly trying to get some order and find out what had happened, "Right I think we'd all better go home. We all need to sit down and talk so we can sort this out."

So, we left the school, all Fitzgeralds and Westbrooks, after dad had given a quick speech at the dance, knowing that what was coming next definitely wasn't going to be pleasant.

* * *

**Thank you for reading! What did you think about this chapter? **

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**Like I said, the next chapter will be the final chapter!**

**Any questions or questions, let me know!**

**Thanks again!**


	4. Chapter 4: Talks

**Hi guys! I'm sorry for the wait for this chapter – I've been really busy and haven't had a lot of time to write but I have finally managed to finish this chapter! I would like to say thanks for everyone who reviewed on the last chapter and PMed me - I've loved reading your thoughts and I love hearing feedback on my writing!  
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**I just want to say thank you for everyone who has read this short story but a bigger thank you to all of those who have taken the time to review as well, your kind words have been wonderful to read and very motivating: ****_dreamerxox, Jasmin Jade xx, CynicalHoneyBadger, molliezoe21, X-Sammii-X, SophF95, River-Spoilers, Wondergirlxox, caz21, Rockout101, markmcg97_**** and all of the guests as well!**

**This is the final chapter for this story, again thank you for reading and hope you enjoy the ending!**

* * *

**_Chapter 4: Talks_**

**Olivia POV**

When we got home, Floyd went to get changed out of the suit he had worn to the dance and Justin, Leo and I went to get changed out of our school uniform. We were all meant to meet in the kitchen for a family meeting but first, Dad asked to talk to us three on our own so we went to the living room - leaving Allie, Floyd and Tiffany to talk amongst themselves.

"I need to know what happened in the art room earlier," Dad stated, looking at the three of us in turn.

"I talked Justin out of doing it dad, what else is there to say?"

"You could've been hurt! Leo, the only one who seems to have any common sense, left the room and came to find me. You shouldn't have stayed there, it was too dangerous!"

"I told Leo to go dad but I couldn't go too. There was no-one else, there never is, I wasn't just going to leave Justin, he's my brother and he needed my help."

"You should've left with Leo!" He insisted.

"It's not Liv's fault dad," Justin spoke up.

"No it's not," Dad turned to him, "It's your fault. I just don't understand you Justin, why?"

"That's the thing dad," Justin replied in a low tone, "You never have understood us, any of us, or even given us the time of day."

"That's… That's not true," Dad said, confused at the response he received.

"Isn't it?" Justin questioned the hurt evident in his eyes, "When was the last time you properly spoke to Leo, to me, or to Liv?"

"Is… I mean I always… Do you feel like that Leo?" Dad looked over at him, he knew how Justin and I felt and now he wanted to know about Leo.

"You're busy, all the time," Leo answered quietly, "And when I want to speak to you, you always say not now, you never listen."

I could tell that Leo was feeling a bit ashamed and guilty for admitting that so I put my arm around him for reassurance.

After an intense silence he said to us, "I think it would be best for you three to go down to see your mum this weekend."

"What?" Justin said what all of us were thinking, "You're getting rid of us, just like that?!"

"Forget it Justin," I told him as I stood up, "He's chosen them over us, again, might as well go and pack and get the next train there."

"You're actually giving up on us?" Justin asked - the disappointment evident on his face.

"No," Dad sighed, "I just think it'd be best for us all to have a break, and you were going to go and see your mum anyway these holidays."

"So we have to go and they get to stay," Justin stated as he too got up, "I actually thought you were going to choose us this time dad, I guess I was wrong."

Leo didn't say anything as he walked out of the living room with us and then turned to us, "Are we actually going to live with mum?"

"I don't know mate," Justin answered as he ran a hand through his hair, a clear sign to both Leo and I that he was stressed and didn't know what to do.

"Just go and pack and we'll see what happens," I told Leo and he nodded in response leaving me and Justin alone in the hallway.

I leant against the wall with a sigh, "This is just one big mess!"

"And most of it is my fault," he admitted and he hung his head down in shame.

"No, it isn't," I told him, "I thought coming to live with dad would be a new start, but again, he's got more important things to worry about than us. I mean, we're his flesh and blood Justin, and he spends more time with Allie and her kids than us!"

"I know he does," Justin empathised, "We'll just stay with mum for the holidays and see what happens."

"I know she's out of the clinic now, but what if she has another breakdown? What if she gets stressed out looking after us again? I can't do that again Justin, seeing her like that, not being able to cope," I started to cry as Justin pulled me into a hug and let me cry on his shoulder – the roles reversed from earlier.

When I had stopped crying, I pulled away only to see dad watching us, "Maybe you and Leo could stay."

"What?" I exclaimed as I looked between dad and Justin who was now looking to the ground and I could hear him counting to ten with his fists clenched, "You want him to go on his own?!"

"Don't you see that all the problems lately always come back to him?" Dad tried to explain – I couldn't believe what he was saying!

Quickly I wiped the remaining tears on my face, "You might think that it's okay to turn your back on family dad, but I don't. Wherever Justin and Leo go, I go," I said before Justin and I left dad to go and pack our bags.

There was a quiet knock at the door when I was packing. I turned towards the door and Justin walked in.

"Packed?" He questioned.

"Yeah," I said, zipping my bags up for emphasis.

"Maybe you and Leo should stay here," he suggested as he sat down on my bed.

"No way," I told him, knowing that dad's words had gotten to him, "Don't listen to dad Justin."

"But it's my fault," he insisted.

"Justin, you've agreed to go for anger management – that's a big step you know, agreeing to get help and you will always have our support as well. Just like I said to dad, wherever you go, we go."

"Yeah but it's because of me we have to go so why should you and Leo have to go too?"

"Your plan to have mum to yourself for the entire holidays isn't going to work," I joked, trying to lighten the mood and to my relief, he let out a small laugh as he stood up.

"Come on," he said, "They're waiting to have this family meeting."

* * *

I dumped my two bags next to Leo and Justin's bags out in the hallway before going into the kitchen with Justin.

Floyd sat with his mum and Tiffany on the left side of the table, Leo was sat on the right (where Justin and I joined him) and Dad decided to sit at the head of the table, like he couldn't decide which family he was a part of.

"So," Dad started off, "I think that we all need to just sit down and talk, like a family."

Floyd just snorted, "Better hide the matches!"

"Floyd," Allie sighed in exasperation.

"It's true though isn't it mum," Floyd defended himself, "First he hits you and then the second they let him out, he's about to set the school on fire!"

"Floyd - just be quiet," Tiffany said, "Just listen to what Vaughan's trying to say."

"We need to decide how we can move on from what's happened recently," Dad continued.

"And how do we do that? The only way that can happen is if Justin isn't here – he's always causing trouble!" Floyd shouted.

"What so you just want to get rid of my brother as well?" I commented, "You're not the only one then Dad."

"Olivia," Dad started.

"No Dad what's the point of this?" I asked, just sick and tired of everything, all the shouting and all the arguments, "You've already made your choice; we're going to stay at mums so you can have your perfect family."

Allie, Floyd and Tiffany looked at dad and then me in shock, "You're leaving?" Floyd questioned.

"Yeah," I laughed bitterly, "Bet you're glad."

"I just think we all need to take a break, wait for all this to blow over. You're only going for the holidays and after that, we'll see what we can do," Dad defended himself.

"I can't let you do this Vaughan," Allie said, "I think it's unfair for you to have to choose between your children and me and mine."

"But we're one family," Dad argued though he seemed to be the only one who believed that. It was evident that we were two separate families and the merge clearly hadn't worked how he had envisioned.

"Your children need you and mine need me," Allie replied. I never thought I'd say this, but I was grateful to Allie – it seemed like her words had made dad think, he actually listened to her.

This was when I knew, without a single doubt, that the Fitzgerald-Westbrook family had come to an end – it hadn't worked from the start and now, Allie was going to put Tiffany and Floyd first – like a parent should but the question is, would dad do the same for us? Were we going to be the ones to leave, or would Allie, Floyd and Tiffany?

"Vaughan," Allie said slowly, "I think it'd be best if we talk alone."

"Okay," Dad nodded, "Kids, could you give us a minute please?"

Allie gave a nod and smile to Tiffany and Floyd, probably reassuring them that she's fine.

The five of us stood up and left the two of them to it.

Tiffany and Floyd went upstairs but Justin, Leo and I only moved to the stairs. Justin sat on the one above and Leo and I sat on the one below. From where we were sat, we could still hear most of the conversation anyway.

"This isn't working Vaughan," Allie stated.

"But we can make it work," Dad responded, "We just have to work at it."

"We have tried and look what's happened," Allie sighed.

"We can move forward from this Allie," he said.

"Can we?"

"Of course we can," he insisted, "Justin has agreed to go to anger management, Tiffany can come back home where she belongs – we just need to give it another go."

"But what's next Vaughan? I can't put my kids in danger and I don't want yours to feel like you've abandoned them," she said.

At that, Justin's posture slumped down in shame – he felt guilty that everyone thought he was dangerous. Leo and I both turned around simultaneously and attempted to reassure him with a smile.

"They're not in danger," Dad insisted, "And I haven't abandoned them."

I let out a small laugh at this, is that what he thought? He was the one who left us for Allie and her family, left us to deal with mum when she was ill.

"Next time, it could be one of them on the receiving end of Justin's anger and I won't do that to them Vaughan, I love them and they have to come first," Allie said.

We heard two set of footsteps coming down the stairs so the three of us got up to let Tiffany and Floyd past. I noticed that they had a few bags between them. The two of them walked straight past us without any acknowledgement and entered the kitchen after putting their bags next to Justin's, Leo's and mine. The three of us looked at each other before following them in.

"I packed your stuff for you mum," Tiffany told her mum, "And Floyd's called the taxi."

"Thanks love," Allie replied.

"Allie…" Dad started, "Don't do this."

At this moment, I looked out at the collection of bags in the hallway – I wondered whose bags would stay here and whose bags would go, would ours be the ones to stay or leave?

"I have to Vaughan, I'm sorry."

"I just wanted us to be a family." And that was the sentence that really hurt me – he had a family, with me, mum, Justin and Leo – why weren't we enough for him? He left us without a second thought and now, he was here begging for Allie not to leave. At the moment, it was like we weren't even here.

"I wish we could but we can't," Allie told him.

"Where… Where are you going to go?"

"Back to Manchester," Allie said, "We'll stay with my parents until we find somewhere else."

Dad just shook his head, like he still couldn't believe this was happening, "You can stay here - the kids are going back to Olga's for the holidays."

"And what happens after that Vaughan?" She sighed.

Dad tried for the last time, "I love you Allie."

As she put her coat on she replied, "I love you too Vaughan but we both need to put our families first."

We all heard a horn sound outside the house and Floyd commented, "The taxi's here mum."

Dad helped Allie, Tiffany and Floyd take their bags out to the taxi and put them into the boot.

The taxi driver had already got into the driver's seat as Dad hugged Tiffany. This display of affection hit me harder than I thought – dad had never been like this with me, or any of us.

"Bye Vaughan," Tiffany said when she stepped back to let Floyd say his goodbyes.

Justin stepped forward unexpectedly and slowly placed his hand on Tiffany's face and gently stroked it with his thumb as Tiffany stayed still and looked straight to Justin. I could see that everyone else, as well as me, was watching their goodbye.

"Just be happy Tiff," he whispered. I knew, as I'm sure Tiffany did now, that he really did love her even if she didn't feel the same way.

"You too," she replied and with one last smile to us all, she got into the taxi.

After Floyd had said goodbye to Floyd, he also got into the taxi with a small nod in our direction.

Allie and Vaughan had the longest goodbye, after a long hug, a kiss and an exchange of 'I love you' the two of them stepped away from each other.

"Maybe one day, when the time's right," Allie said, "We could try again."

"I hope so," Dad replied, "I really do."

Allie glanced over at the three of us and said, "Justin, I'm going to drop the charges. I just hope you can learn from this, move on and get a place at a good university."

I could tell that Justin didn't expect this, "Allie I… Thank you… After everything, I mean…"

"It's okay," Allie smiled in response.

She then said a quick goodbye to me and Leo, wishing us good luck.

"Allie," I said as she was about to get into the taxi, "I know we never got on but I just wanted to say thank you and I'm sorry."

She smiled at me and said, "You've always done what's best for your brothers, you've always put them first and I admire you for that."

"Thank you," I replied, touched by her words. She gave a small wave before getting into the taxi with her two children.

We Fitzgeralds watched the taxi drive away with the Westbrooks. Once they were out of view, my brother and I went back inside.

I looked at the bags we had packed when dad came back in.

"You're not still going are you?" Dad questioned.

"I don't know dad," I told him honestly, "I don't really want to go but I don't really want to stay here either."

"I know I've made a mess of things so far and I'm sorry," Dad said to all of us, "But I promise, I'm going to do the right thing now, I'm going to put you all first. I want you all to stay here, you can still visit Olga, she's your mum after all, but I want you to stay with me. I know I don't say it enough, but I love you – all of you."

His words were genuine and I know we had a lot of stuff to still move on from but we could do it, together, as a family.

* * *

**Thank you for reading the final chapter and that's the end!  
**

**I know many of you expected the Fitzgerald-Westbrook family to stay together but I wanted to show that Vaughan realised that he needed to put his own children first, thanks to Allie **

**I really hope you enjoyed the ending, let me know your thoughts on it – please leave a review!**

**Thanks again! **


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